THE R0, or infectivity rate of Covid-19 in Malaysia rose slightly to 0.91 on February 12, said director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

It was a 0.03 percentage points increase from the previous day’s 0.88.

The R0 value of the virus is highest in Malacca at 1.09, followed by Kedah and Penang, both at 1.06.

Other states with an infectivity rate higher than 1 were Negri Sembilan and Johor, at 1.01 and 1.03, respectively.

All other states reported an R0 value of below 1, with Perlis logging the lowest at 0.63.

The R0, pronounced “r naught’ is a gauge of the number of new infections stemming from a single case.

Malaysia yesterday recorded 3,318 new virus cases, continuing its run of daily cases in the four digits since November.

Seventeen people died of infection yesterday, taking the death toll to 953.

Total cases number 258,306, 51,579 of which are considered active. – February 13, 2021.